Momotaro's Sky Adventure and the Bizarre World of 'The Plane Cabby's Lucky Day'

If you're in the mood for something that feels like it was pulled out of a dusty VHS box from the late 70s, The Plane Cabby's Lucky Day is definitely worth your time. It’s perfect for people who like their animation a bit wonky, slightly melancholic, and definitely not obsessed with high-budget polish. If you hate slow, talky movies where animals have more personality than the humans, just skip this one. You’ll probably find the pacing maddening.

The whole setup is just delightfully weird. Everyone flies these tiny, toy-like planes to get around, and the perspective is constantly shifting. It feels a lot like Momotaro's Sky Adventure, mostly because it shares that specific, old-school charm where the physics don't really matter as much as the vibe. ✈️

There is this one moment where the kid lands his plane, and the way the propeller just sort of... wobbles to a stop? It’s not a technical marvel, but it felt oddly grounded. Like someone actually watched a real plane once and decided that was enough research.

The bird interaction is a bit heavy-handed, honestly. You can practically hear the animators trying to convince you to cry. But then, the bear shows up, and the movie suddenly gets way more interesting because the bear is just pure chaos. He doesn't want a lesson; he just wants lunch.

It’s weird how the movie treats the "men are bad for animals" theme. It doesn't lecture you, exactly, but it hangs in the air like humidity. It feels a lot like the quiet, desperate tone you find in Höhenluft. Just a lingering sense that things aren't quite right.

Some thoughts:

• The sound design is almost entirely made of wind whistling and engine sputtering. It’s strangely hypnotic.
• The grandmother character is only on screen for like three minutes, but she has this look of pure, unbothered wisdom that I really respected.
• That scene in the forest where the bear is just staring at the plane? It goes on for way too long. It’s uncomfortable. I loved it.
• The sky colors look like someone spilled a box of crayons in a dark room.

I don't know if this movie is 'good' by any objective standard. It’s got pacing issues that would make a modern editor scream, and some of the dialogue feels like it was translated from a dream. But honestly? I’d take this messy, strange little flight over anything shiny and computer-generated any day. 🐻

It doesn't end with a big, heroic boom. It just sort of stops, like a conversation you forgot to finish. And somehow, that feels exactly right.